Materials Science Forum, Vol.514-516, 858-862, 2006
Non-conventional injection moulding of a PP/PC-ABS blend
This paper summarizes the processing, morphology and mechanical properties of PP/PC-ABS blend produced by a non-conventional injection moulding technique: shear controlled orientation in injection moulding, SCORIM. This technique consists on the in-mould shear manipulation of the melt during the solidification phase by using a special mounted mould plate equipped with two external hydraulic pistons. In this work attention is mainly concentrated on the effect of the processing conditions on the mechanical properties of 70/30 (%/w) PP/PC-ABS blend obtained by direct injection moulding. The SCORIM technique was used deliberately to induce a strong anisotropic character of this processed polymer-polymer composite that features a complex morphology, featuring outer highly oriented multi-layers and a less oriented core. Different settings of the operative variables were used according to the moulding program based on a design of experiments array (melt temperature, stroke time, number of strokes), assuring a wide processing window. The fracture surfaces of the mouldings were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy. The mechanical properties were assessed by tensile, flexural and fracture tests. The main significant processing variables determining the mechanical properties of the mouldings were identified together with their effects.
Keywords:non-conventional injection moulding;pure and grafted polymer blends;shear history;mechanical properties